


Little Talks

by magumarashi



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, M/M, Underage Rape/Non-con, spoilers for a game 10 years old
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-17
Updated: 2012-09-17
Packaged: 2019-03-13 06:13:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13564545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magumarashi/pseuds/magumarashi
Summary: With Dojima and Nanako in the hospital, Yu Narukami finds himself sharing his uncle's house with one bumbling detective...





	Little Talks

**Author's Note:**

> _This was originally posted to my wordpress 9/17/2012_
> 
> this is a short fic I wrote for a pairing I don't usually jive with but one day felt like writing something for; it was inspired by a fanart I saw on pixiv somewhere. It was a nice little experiment to see if I could write something about a couple that wasn’t all sunshine and daisies between the two of them
> 
> -I use honorifics like “-san” to indicate levels of respect/progression of relationships so uh sorry if it seems weeaboo-ish there just wasn’t any other way to communicate this little culture point  
> -I used the name "Yu Narukami" to differentiate this from my actual headcanons/the SouYo stuff i was writing at the time, in which I used the name Souji Seta

_I dunno… the more time I spent at Dojima’s house, the more times I ran into that nephew of his… the more I started thinking, ‘Hey, that guy’s pretty cool, even for a kid.’_

_Maybe there’s one person in this piece of shit world I can relax around…_

* * *

The phone rang in the Dojima house.

“Hello? Oh–hey. Yeah, I’m home from school. No, I haven’t started dinner yet. Should I have?”

The voice on the other end sounded fatigued as he answered.

_“Nah, better not. I’m workin’ kinda late today; with Dojima-san out of commission and Namatame on our hands, the office has been real busy.”_

“All right. When do you think you’ll get back?”

_“Probably eight or nine… sorry kid. If you wanna have something to eat beforehand, go ahead.”_

“Okay. I’m going to run to Junes; the fridge is kinda empty. I’ll have dinner on the table when you get back.”

_“Thanks. You know, it really is nice having you around… I usually ended up eating cabbage for dinner when I lived by myself. Cooking is not my strong suit…”_

“I see.”

_“See you later, Yu!”_

Yu paused, finger on the ‘end call’ button.

“See you, Adachi-san.”

* * *

He came home to the smell of cooking pork and various spices. The TV blared with a prime time soap, though Adachi doubted that the house’s occupant was really watching. It was just on in the background to break the unnerving silence that had settled in since the accident.

“I’m back!” he announced, though halfheartedly; work had left him exhausted. He took his shoes off carefully and stepped inside, practically throwing his blazer on the coat hook.

“Welcome back,” said Yu. He was just finishing up seasoning some pork cutlets.

“Smells good!” said Adachi cheerfully, taking a peek around Yu’s shoulder (he wasn’t quite tall enough to peek _over_ his shoulder), “What did you make?”

“Pork cutlets,” said Yu simply. Adachi sort of liked that about him, that he never really said much. Adachi himself tended to run his mouth, even when he was alone; it was nice to have someone quiet around.

“Please sit, Adachi-san,” said Yu with a cordial smile, “It will be ready momentarily.”

“How many times do I have to tell you…?” said Adachi as he walked over to the small table in front of the TV, “Call me ‘Tohru’. We’re living together now, aren’t we? Might as well drop the formality. You don’t call your uncle ‘Dojima-san’, do you?”

“I call him Dojima,” said Yu. He put the cutlets on a plate and carefully brought them to the table.

“You could at least call me ‘Adachi’ without the honorific,” said Adachi, mouth curling into a pout made even more pronounced by his underbite.

“It’s a temporary arrangement,” said Yu briskly, “I expect you to return to your home once Dojima and Nanako recover. Besides, you’re a detective, and I’m a student. The level of formality required is…”

“Hmph.” The answer wasn’t satisfactory.

_Man, when he DOES have something to say, the kid doesn’t hold back…_

“Let’s eat!”

There was some silence as the two of them dug into their meals. Yu had prepared a simple dish, but it was nonetheless very well crafted. Adachi was always surprised at Yu’s expertise in the kitchen; something he’d thought wasn’t much of a man’s domain. Leave the cooking to the wife… well, unmarried at his age, he’d had to resort to cooking for himself more often than not.

“How was your day?” Yu offered; the soap on TV wasn’t engaging enough to hold either of their attentions.

“Busy…” Adachi sighed, “Man, sometimes I forget how much Dojima-san does around here. I have to take on his workload now that he’s…”

“I see,” said Yu, “Have you… found anything else out? Like why the culprit would go after Nanako?”

“Very, very little,” said Adachi. He furrowed his brow, “That Namatame, man… he keeps spoutin’ stuff about this ‘TV world’ and ‘saving people’… sounds to me like he’s not exactly right in the head, you know? His alibi for the first case is rock-solid, too… we’re gonna have a hard time making the murder charges stick in court.”

Yu’s face fell a little.

“I know,” Adachi added darkly, “To think that the guy who nearly killed Nanako might get off scot-free… It’s not right.”

“Isn’t there anything the police can do?” Yu’s voice sounded more urgent.

“Unless we can get us some hard evidence to prove he did it, the court will most likely let him go…” said Adachi sadly, “That’d suck. I swear, more and more people are gettin’ off by pleading insanity these days…”

Yu looked down at his empty plate.

_There must be something we aren’t seeing here…_

* * *

His friends had left ahead of him, saying they’d see him tomorrow. Nanako was sleeping, and Dojima was back to his hospital bed in another wing. Now Yu walked the hospital halls alone, heading for the exit closest to his house. There was a lot on his mind. They’d caught the killer, but Nanako was in critical condition and Dojima wasn’t looking too good either. They’d found the truth, but something wasn’t right. Yu felt like he was still wading through a sea of fog.

“Narukami!”

Yu turned around at the sound of a voice calling out to him. To his surprise, it was Adachi. What could his uncle’s bumbling junior partner possibly want with him?

“Good, you’re still here,” said Adachi, panting a little from running, “I, uh… this is gonna sound weird, but… you know, coming home to an empty house is depressing. Why don’t you… stay at my place for a few days? While Dojima-san and Nanako-chan recover. It’s small, but there’s room for another futon…”

_Huh?_ Yu looked at Adachi in disbelief. For one of his friends to offer him a place to stay, it would have been no problem. But _Adachi_? They really only knew each other through his uncle’s job.

“Thanks, but I couldn’t,” said Yu, “I… need to keep their house running for them while they’re gone. If something happened…”

“Oh, I see…” said Adachi, “You know, actually… Dojima-san told me to keep an eye on you while he’s in the hospital.”

“Really?” Yu was unconvinced. Dojima knew he could take care of himself; Yu already cooked for the family and did a number of chores around the house. Why would Dojima want Adachi looking after him? _Does he really still think I’m involved somehow…?_

“Yeah! You know, he doesn’t want you to be alone all the time… besides, what if there’s another warning letter? You could be in serious danger, alone in the house by yourself, with no one to report you missing until it’s too late.”

“But–!” Yu started, but he stopped.

_But we caught the culprit. Now that he’s in custody, why would I have to worry about receiving more letters? Unless… Adachi knows something I don’t._

Strategically, then, maybe living with Adachi was a good plan. He tended to run his mouth a lot; maybe he’d spill something else about the case. Something important.

Yu finally nodded.

“All right, Adachi-san. You can stay at my place for a while. But–-” Adachi had started to say something, but Yu raised a hand to stop him, “ _Only_ until Dojima and Nanako recover.”

“Of course,” said Adachi, “Wouldn’t dream of staying any longer than that.”

* * *

“Adachi-san, I would like you to stop calling me ‘Yu’.”

“Why? Can’t I call the guy I’m living with by his first name?”

He’d begun to notice it several days in; Adachi’s sudden switch from calling him “Narukami” to calling him “Yu”, as if they were best friends by the virtue of living in the same house. It annoyed him, especially since Yu didn’t entirely trust him. Adachi hadn’t yet begun to insist that Yu call him by his first name, but he suspected it would start happening soon enough. Why the camaraderie, though? This was a temporary arrangement, on Dojima’s request… Adachi’s sudden buddy-buddy attitude struck him as out of the ordinary.

“You are a coworker of my uncle’s, and I don’t know you very well,” said Yu simply, “A little formality would be–!”

When Yu looked up, Adachi was very, very close to him. Closer than acquaintances had any right to be.

“Adachi-san–!”

Yu’s back hit the wall of the entrance hall, cutting him off. Adachi pinned him there, hands just above his shoulders. Even though Yu had to look down to look the detective in the eyes, the look Adachi had in them was… frightening.

“You know,” said Adachi quietly, “It’s the stupidest thing. Lately I’ve been thinking ‘I like that Yu Narukami guy. He’s interesting. He’s cool. He’s handy around the house’. But then I realized it. I have this fucking crush on you. God, isn’t that so stupid?”

“Adachi-san?!” Yu couldn’t think of anything else to say. Was this really Adachi? He was like a totally different person. Red flags shot up everywhere. Yu tried not to panic, but it was hard–especially knowing that Adachi had a gun in his pocket.

“Tell you what,” said Adachi, “I can see you’re nervous. Understandable. I’ll do something I don’t normally do. You let me kiss you, just once, and I promise not to bring this shit up ever again.”

“Kiss–?” Yu regretted leaving his phone on the table; he could’ve called for help. He moved to knee Adachi in the gut, but the detective leaped out of the way.

“I’m a trained detective, kid, you’re gonna have to do better than that!”

“How could you have feelings for me?” Yu spluttered, “You’re a detective, I’m a student; the age difference alone is-–!”

“Please, just once,” said Adachi, “I promise I won’t do anything like this ever again. I’ll forget about my feelings. But I’ve never liked a guy enough to want to kiss him before, so… I wanna see what happens.”

There was a tense silence between them.

“You won’t leave me alone if I don’t let you kiss me, right…?” said Yu carefully. Adachi nodded, an odd grin spreading across his dorky face.

“… just get it over with, then,” said Yu in defeat.

Adachi came closer carefully, making sure that Yu wouldn’t lash out. When it was apparent he wasn’t going to, the detective stood on his toes and touched their lips together gently.

_He’s so gentle… that klutz, I never expected he’d be like this. But that explains why he suddenly wants to call me Yu…_

Adachi pulled back; the expression on his face looking pained and sad.

“I’m a fool, aren’t I?” he said with a light laugh, “Falling in love with my coworker’s underage nephew… That’s more off limits than a married woman! Hah, whatever… I’ll get over it.”

“I pity the fool,” said Yu quietly.

“Huh–!?”

Yu grabbed the front of Adachi’s blazer and pulled him into another kiss; this one more forceful than the last. Adachi squeaked in shock and struggled a bit against Yu’s surprisingly strong grip. Finally the boy released him.

“I’m going to sleep,” said Yu bluntly. He turned tail and dashed up the stairs to his room without another word. Adachi heard the door slam on the floor above.

* * *

_From then on, our relationship started getting a little… weird._

* * *

Diffuse sunlight filtered through the window; the fog blocking some of the sun’s light. Yu blinked a little as he lay on his back on the futon. Yesterday was a half day at school; today must be Sunday.

He glanced at the clock on the floor beside the futon; it wasn’t quite 8 am yet. The room was a little chilly. Yu wondered what he would do today; he had nothing else to do other than wait for Nanako and Dojima to recover. They’d caught the murderer… or had they? Everyone was fairly certain Namatame had done it, but something didn’t seem right. “Dont rescue anymore,” “if you dont stop someone close will be put in and killed”… as Yu and his friends confronted Namatame, the man had screamed only about “saving” people. Those warning letters didn’t sound like something a man with a messiah complex would write.

The door to the room opened; Adachi walked in with his blazer slung over one arm. Yu sat up.

“Oh, you’re awake,” said Adachi. Yu nodded, “I’m heading to work now. You’re off school today, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm. Maybe if I can get out of the office in time, we’ll go do something fun later. See a movie. All this murder and fog stuff is really depressing, isn’t it? You look like you could use a break.”

“You sure you aren’t talking about yourself, Adachi?”

By then Yu managed to at least drop the “-san” from the detective’s name, but he still had to catch himself sometimes.

Adachi laughed a bit and walked over, kneeling down next to the futon.

“Be good today, all right?” he said, patting Yu on the head, “Stay outta trouble.”

“Good luck with the investigation,” said Yu quietly, more out of duty than anything. Adachi chuckled before planting a soft kiss on the boy’s head.

“I’ll be back later. See you then!”

“Yeah… see you.”

It was a few minutes before Yu heard the front door open and close downstairs, signaling that Adachi had finally left the house. Yu flopped back onto his futon, hands behind his head. He glanced to the side, where a second pillow sat next to his own. It had a slight dent in it from recent use.

_Why am I leading him on like this…?_

* * *

“Say it.”

It had happened quickly. Yu had been making envelopes quietly, occasionally humming to himself to break the tedium. Adachi had come back late from work; it was about nine o’clock when Yu finally heard the door opening downstairs.

And now he was on his back on the floor, half-finished envelopes strewn around him, with Adachi kneeling over him like an animal upon his prey. He wasn’t totally certain how they’d gotten from point A to point B, but that wasn’t important right now. The important thing was how oddly _forceful_ Adachi was; the strange, hungry look in the detective’s eyes. This wasn’t what the man was like at all; save for that one night when he’d confessed his feelings, Adachi had been as bumbling as he usually was. Until now, that is.

“Say it,” Adachi repeated, “Call me by my first name.”

“ _No,_ ” said Yu sternly. No matter how things seemed, no matter what appearances and airs he’d put on, Yu did not think he was ready to drop the formality.

_I remember now. I greeted him by saying, “Welcome back, Adachi”… and now I’m on the floor._

“We sleep on the same futon now, for god’s sake!” Adachi shouted, “You’ve done nothing to resist me; this is literally the only thing you’re being a stick in the ass about!”

“I don’t feel comfortable calling you–!”

“Say my first name. _Moan_ it. Maybe then I’ll let you go.”

“No–!”

“You little brat!” said Adachi, “What if I _ordered_ you to, as an officer of the law?”

“Then I’d hit the hospital before school tomorrow morning; I’m sure Dojima would _love_ to hear how you’ve been abusing your power–!”

“I have ways of stopping you from doing that. I own a gun, you know.”

Yu couldn’t help but notice how Adachi’s eyes flicked to the small television on top of his dresser. _That’s odd… why would he look at the TV when he’s threatening me with a gun…?_

“Come on, Yu- _kun_ ,” said Adachi enticingly, “Just one little word. Two syllables. Toh-ru. That’s it! That’s all you have to say!”

Yu looked searchingly at Adachi.

“Who… are you?” he asked, “And what have you done with Adachi?”

Adachi pulled a knee forward to rest it uncomfortably close to Yu’s groin.

“What, you didn’t think scatterbrained ol’ Adachi didn’t have some secrets? Doesn’t _everyone_ have something they can’t show others? Y’know, it’s been a long time since I trusted someone enough to let them _really_ see me.”

Adachi moved closer; Yu writhed and struggled, but Adachi’s grip was firm.

“Say it. Don’t make me repeat myself a fourth time, brat.”

Adachi nudged Yu’s groin with his knee.

“Toh… Tohru!!” Yu spluttered finally.

“There it is!” said Adachi triumphantly. He released Yu’s wrists and sat up, hands on his hips, “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Yu wouldn’t look at him.

_Why is he acting like this? And he’s not even drunk… Something’s wrong. Or maybe there’s something we’re missing. Something that’s been staring us in the face this whole time…_

“Namatame wasn’t the one who wrote those letters…” Yu murmured.

“What was that?” asked Adachi.

“Nothing.”

Adachi took hold of Yu’s chin and made the boy look at him.

“Let’s have a little fun tonight,” he drawled, “I bet you I can make you moan my name _all night long_.”

“But Ada–Tohru! You said–!”

“I never said I’d let you go! I said _maybe_ I would–!”

Yu remembered that his hands were now free. Thinking quickly, he slapped Adachi across the face.

“Stop,” he said sternly, “You’re done. No more.”

For a few seconds, Adachi was stunned. But then he began to laugh.

“Not the first time I’ve been slapped across the face,” he said quietly, “First time a guy’s had to do it to me, though.”

Adachi stood up and backed away, allowing Yu to sit up.

“Heh. Don’t suppose you’re gonna make me sleep on the couch for this.”

“How’d you guess?”

* * *

“If Namatame wasn’t the killer, who was?”

Yu, Yosuke, and Naoto stood out in the cold in front of Aiya. Snow floated down around them through the yellowish fog. Hearing Namatame’s story made it clear: the real killer was still on the loose. They were practically back to square one: no suspect, no evidence. But having asked everyone in town…

“No one saw anyone suspicious,” said Yosuke, “It doesn’t make sense…”

“Actually, it makes perfect sense,” said Naoto, “If no one noticed anything out of the ordinary, the killer would need to be someone who didn’t attract a lot of attention.”

Yu mulled it all over. He considered everyone he’d ever met in town, from his closest friends to his most distant acquaintances. There was no one whose behavior seemed off recently, no one who would have the motive, and they all had alibis… unless–-!

Yu remembered one person who had been acting particularly strange lately. This man was stronger than he let on, seemed to know something they didn’t, and had something to hide. Someone who’d practically been under his nose for the past month; no, the whole time. And if Yu hadn’t been living with him, he would’ve hesitated to think that the bumbling detective could do anything on his own.

No, the truth was clear. The fog lifted. The perpetrator’s name rose to his lips.

“Tohru Adachi.”


End file.
